A new paradigm for climate change

Aug 2012 A new paradigm for climate change - Nature Climate ChangeA Pre-edited version of the piece is also available.
Many scientists who interface with policy makers run scared of suggesting emission reductions that challenge the veracity of the contemporary economic Zeitgeist. However, times are changing and the pronouncements of market economists increasingly fail to describe the complex world within which we live. This commentary concludes that it is time to leave these astrologists ”to fight among themselves over the right price of carbon — let them relive their groundhog day if they wish. The world is moving on and we need to have the audacity to think differently and conceive of alternative futures … Ultimately, decisions on how to respond to climate change are the product of many constituencies … science is important among these and needs to be communicated clearly, honestly and without fear.”

The authors’ views of contemporary economics is similar to that expressed by Will Self in his BBC Radio 4′s A Point of View: Economics Priesthood – available both in audio form and as a transcript